Civic Leaders and their Neighborhoods At U of R

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Scott

From the University of Richmond’s Center for Civic Engagement:

CCE Brown Bag: Civic Leaders and their Neighborhoods Friday, Feb. 12, 12:30-1:25 p.m., Weinstein Hall Brown Alley Room 313
Join us for this week’s Brown Bag discussion on “Civic Leaders and their Neighborhoods” with Ryan Rinn, executive director, Storefront for Community Design; Jo White, chapter commander, Alliance of Guardian Angels; and Maura Meinhardt, citizen leader, Oregon Hill neighborhood. Please note: this week’s Brown Bag discussion will be in the Weinstein Hall Brown Alley Room 313 (not THC 305).
http://engage.richmond.edu/events/brown-bag/index.html

Vinyl Conflict Record Store Sponsors Neighborhood Cleanup Sunday

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Scott

Vinyl Conflict, the punk metal record store on S. Pine Street, is helping RVA CleanSweep sponsor a neighborhood litter cleanup this Sunday.

From the FaceBook event page:

We do enough for our music community so this time were gonna turn around and do something for our actual neighborhood.

Come meet with us as we get together and clear the Sidewalks, alleyways, parks and so on of excess garbage, clutter, litter, nick nacks, crap, junk, debris, filth, rubble, swill, trash, sewage, dregs, dross, slop, and whatever else needs to go!

Meet up at the shop for some treats and then we will take on neighborhood. Maybe we can take it to Mojos afterwards for some wings and drinks??

—

Hey guys! Were gonna be tackling the neighborhood around 2pm. We will have specific streets and alleys to take care of, so please come meet up HERE at Vinyl Conflict. We will break up into teams, we will have supplies ready for you and so on!
Come early for Hot Chocolate, and hang out afterwards at 821 or Mojos (group size pending)

Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council Presents Author’s Talk on Tredegar Iron Works

Posted on February 3, 2016 by Scott

From press release:

The Oregon Hill Home Improvement Council, (OHHIC) a neighborhood membership organization whose mission includes historical preservation, is presenting an author’s talk about historic Tredegar Iron Works on Wednesday, February 24th at 6:30 pm. Local historian Nathan Vernon Madison, a graduate of the University of Mary Washington (BA) and Virginia Commonwealth University (MA), will present and discuss his recently released book, Tredegar Iron Works. His account utilizes a wealth of primary sources and firsthand accounts to chronicle the full history of the Richmond industrial icon. The Oregon Hill neighborhood was built and occupied by many of the foundry’s workers and therefore has a special connection to this history. This author’s talk is co-hosted by St. Andrew’s Church and will take place in their chapel at 236 S. Laurel Street. After the presentation Mr. Madison will be available to sign books. A small reception will follow the talk next door at the St. Andrew’s Parish House. This event is free and open to the public, however seating will be limited and RSVP’s are appreciated.

Related links:

St Andrew’s Church
Richmond Magazine article on Mr. Madison and Tredegar Iron Works
Amazon.com author’s profile

City Hosts “A COMMUNITY FORUM ON HOMELESSNESS”

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Scott

Not sure where the official notice is, but here is the info that I have received…

A COMMUNITY FORUM ON HOMELESSNESS
WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 10, 2016
5:30-7:30
Altria Theatre
6 N Laurel St
Richmond Va 23220
A Discussion of Homelessness in our Community and Solutions We Can Work Toward Together

Hear the results of survey recently conducted in Monroe Park.
See how service providers and non-profit organizations provide practical solutions to serving the homeless despite limited funding.
Learn how congregations, organizations and individuals can help homeless people through direct service and connectivity to service providers and non-profit organizations.

NrG Krysis Benefit For Grace Arents Grand Hall

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Scott

From neighbor Todd Woodson’s email announcement:

My band NrG Krysys will be playing this Saturday night at Lewis Ginter Recreation Center at 3421 Hawthorne ave, 23222 in Ginter Park for a Cabin Fever dance. The cost is $15 a person and that includes a drink ticket. I would normally not post such an event except for on this one, the proceeds will all go toward improvements to the Grace Arents Grand Hall, where the event will take place. Miss Arents built this Rec Center for the people in this northside neighborhood and it is a pretty exquisite old building (she also built St Andrews, Wm Byrd Comm House and Open High in our hood). Doors open at 7 and Mean Bird food truck will be there with food available. 21 and over.

There is more information on the FaceBook event page.

Shiver and Clean Up This Saturday

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Scott

From email announcement:

Hello Oregon Hill Neighbors,

Your neighborhood is one of the remote cleanup locations for Keep Virginia Beautiful’s Shiver in the River on January 30th!

Please share the following link on your social media pages, and with friends and family: http://www.meetup.com/RVA-Clean-Sweep/events/224125267/

I’ve also attached the neighborhood and The Shiver flyer. I hope everyone is staying warm!

Thank you so much,
Amy
804-912-0442 cell

#pickuplitterRVA

Amy Robins (@airobia)
RVA Clean Sweep
Tax Deductible Donations: www.enrichmond.org/partner/rva-clean-sweep/
MeetUp: www.meetup.com/RVA-Clean-Sweep/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rvacleansweep
Twitter: @RVACleanSweep
Instagram: http://instagram.com/rvacleansweep

Byrd House Market Tomorrow?

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Scott

The Nextdoor community website suggests that there will be a few vendors there this Tuesday–

Tue, Jan 26, 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM
980 Idlewood Ave, Richmond, VA 23220
The market is continuing! Vendors are still allowed to use the same Byrd House space for awhile longer – stop by and see what’s for supper!

On Tuesdays, the Byrd House Market introduces our community to local farmers and vendors of the greater Richmond region: Fruits, vegetables, specialty crops and breads to handcrafted and health-oriented gifts.

The Byrd House Market aims to provide a welcoming atmosphere, where any and all visitors feel comfortable and enjoy the food and supplies purchased to sustain themselves.

‘Tredegar Green’ – Still No Response To Neighborhood Concerns

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Scott

Venture Richmond, a very powerful special interests group, still has plans to apply for re-zoning the Tredegar Green property near Oregon Hill. Venture Richmond has talked about the need for Oregon Hill to compromise on the site’s planned use, and discussions between Venture Richmond and the neighborhood have been conducted over the last few years. However, the lawyer representing Oregon Hill, Andrew McRoberts, reports that there has been no reply from Venture Richmond representatives, not even a confirmation of the letter he sent outlining Oregon Hill’s very reasonable wishes over six months ago. All other inquiries by all residents of Oregon Hill had likewise been ignored (so much for “public-private partnership”).

The latest Venture Richmond communications to City staff reveal gross inadequacy:
No real commitment to event management planning- crowd, parking, trash, etc.
Sound levels are to be monitored, but this is meaningless because there is no decibel limit on sound, etc.
No height limitation (even though the DCC zoning would allow any owner of the property to build up to 95 feet in height by right — right in front of the Va. War Memorial’s view of the river!)

All the media has reported is that Jack Berry, Venture Richmond’s Executive Director, is planning to run for the position of Mayor of the City of Richmond. Perhaps he thinks he can do an even better job of putting off the public’s concerns than the current Mayor.

Havana Mañana

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Scott

Dear President Rao,

I read with interest in today’s Richmond Times Dispatch that VCU has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a Cuban university. As your neighboring Oregon Hill representative on VCU’s Community Advisory Board, I congratulate you on this effort but I question why VCU is able to work out a Memorandum of Understanding with a Cuban university but unable to work on a MOU with your neighbors in Oregon Hill.

Your neighbors in Oregon Hill have repeatedly requested a written agreement approved by the VCU Board of Visitors stating that VCU will honor West Cary Street as the border between the Oregon Hill Historic District and VCU. We need a MOU that VCU or its foundations will not purchase property south of Cary Street within the Oregon Hill Historic District. This is of particular importance now that VCU is purchasing property outside the boundaries of its Master Plan, without consulting with the community.

Please let us know when you would agree to meet with representatives of the Oregon Hill neighborhood in order to produce such a Memorandum of Understanding. I believe that your neighbors deserve the same regard as a university in Cuba.

Sincerely,
Scott Burger

Clean City Commission Event On Jan. 9

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Scott